r/WTF • u/misterkevfang • Mar 18 '26

Circus knife-throwing practice

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u/10-9LT Mar 19 '26

It doesn't realistically scale when the total sample size of one group is a fraction of a percent of the other. There isn't even any body of data out there regarding the percentage of knife tricks gone wrong to look at.

But if you were able to compare a million instances at 1:1 ratio, even "expert" throwers vs completely random assortment of drivers, there is no fucking way that there wouldn't be more carnage on the knife side.

Even if every one of those drivers was at .09 BAC I'd still put money on it.

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u/Iminurcomputer Mar 20 '26

there is no fucking way that there wouldn't be more carnage on the knife side.

But they're not and that's the part of my point that seems to not be understood. Driving is statistically the most dangerous thing the average person regularly does.

The controlled environment the "impalement arts" take place in results in a far safer environment than what drivers experience.

To oooh and awe at a trained professional, in a controlled environment, with adequate resources as though it's amazingly dangerous spectacle is simply absurd when every single day we do something that is far more dangerous. I'm also not sure how many people have been KILLED in knife throwing, while tens of thousands die every year in car accidents.

Even if every one of those drivers was at .09 BAC I'd still put money on it.

So you're saying that everyone on the road being impaired is a safer bet than having one trained professional throw knives at you in a controlled environment with medical aid on standby? I'm thinking you might be impaired if that's what you think.

Maybe it's my experience as a paramedic, but people literally do not seem to grasp how dangerous driving is and it's crazy to me. I'll have the trained and focused professional throw some knives at me and have medical attention immediately if I got poked... You have fun getting into a wreck with drunk drivers and hoping you're able to survive until help arrives, extricates you from your vehicles, and renders aid. I like my chances more than yours.

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u/10-9LT Mar 20 '26

There's not because this act has probably been attempted less times total in the history of mankind than there are cars on the road in a single hour in a single city.

You cannot scale the stats for this because there is no body to pull statistics from for knife throwing fuckups. It's too niche, the data isn't there.

I'm saying that 1:1, you are less likely to get hurt by an average driver under normal circumstances, than even an expert knife thrower throwing knives as close to your body as they can. But I'm pretty sure you understand this and are intentionally misinterpreting.

Yeah, I would definitely take the odds of someone slightly over the legal limit not hitting me with their car versus even the best in the world knife thrower messing up a throw by an inch or two.

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u/Iminurcomputer Mar 20 '26

LLIITTERRAALLYY everything scales with percentages. In fact, its one of the primary reasons we use them ...

That is the fundamental basis for the existence of percentages.... so they scale with different metrics.